We are two small schools in pretty twin villages in the South of France, Boissières and Saint-Dionisy. Enjoying very beautiful surroundings, we are located just 15 km from Nîmes and 40 km from Montpellier in the Occitanie region, on the threshold of the Camargue wetlands and the Cevennes mountain range.

Our villages are nestled at the foot of a hillside covered with evergreen oak trees, juniper bushes, thyme, “capitelles” (dry-stone cabins) and with a well-preserved “oppidum” (iron-age settlement) at its summit.

From the top, one can marvel at the splendid view over the plain of Vaunage (stretching between Caveirac and Calvisson), the Pic Saint Loup and the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon, and to the recognisable architecture of the Grande Motte (seaside town). On a clear day, one can even discern the peaks of Mont Lozère, Mont Aigoual and Mont Ventoux.

Our two little schools, served by a single school-bus-run, work closely together within an inter-town educational grouping (“Regroupement Pédagogique Intercommunal”) and maintain a privileged relationship with all of the children. The Boissières school welcomes 61 pupils from kindergarten (“maternelle”) to first grade (“Cours Préparatoire”).in three classes and the Saint-Dionisy school receives daily 73 children from second grade (“Cours Elémentaire 1re Année”) up to fifth grade (“Cours Moyen 2e Année”) – also in three classes.

The pupils are delighted to work together on a common theme between the two schools. They are charmed by this wonderful project of being able to communicate with Thomas Pesquet from space. They have been carrying out lots of learning work and are making discoveries about astronomy, the International Space Station and communication. We can be sure that many are already dreaming of becoming the next Thomas Pesquet!

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the volunteer support and leadership from AMSAT and IARU societies around the world with the ISS space agencies partners: NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters’ interest in science, technology, and learning.

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Collège André Malraux, Chatelaillon-Plage, France on 13 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:00 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between FX0ISS and F4KJT. The contact should be audible over portions of France and adjacent areas. The public downlink frequency is 437.525 MHz. The contact is expected to be conducted in French.

The André Malraux middle school is located 10 km south of la Rochelle, in the resort of Châtelaillon-Plage. The middle school offers courses of general education and a complementary curriculum for disabled students (pervasive developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorders).

The middle school has six classes for the sixth year students; six classes for the fifth year students,

six classes for the fourth year students and six classes for the third year students. The languages taught are English, German, Spanish and Latin. This school year 2016-2017, the college has 600 students who are spread over four levels, in which ULIS (Local Inclusion Unit) serves students with special needs and they benefit from inclusion in the classroom.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

Where does the water you use come from? Where do you store it and how is it cleared?

How do you do housework with gravity?

Can you make fire on board? What would happen in case of a fire?

How are your plants growing? Is lettuce orange, green or pink? Has it grown really fast?

In what ways are ultraviolet rays favored? space?

Can we measure time any better? If so, how?

What do your researches on plasma consist of? How can they be useful?

How does time spent in space affect bones, muscles and the human body?

Can you catch diseases?

What do you think of when you look at the earth?

How are you going to readapt to life on earth?

What measures will you take in case of a health emergency?

What did you feel like when you went out of the spaceship?

Why do you got out of the spaceship?

What motivated you to become an astronaut?

What would you have done the past 7 years if you hadn’t been an astronaut?

If it’s possible, would you like to go to Mars?

Toelichting bij 3rd Junior High School of Komotini.

The 3rd Junior High School of Komotini is one of the 13 schools of Secondary Education that operate in Komotini, a city in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in the north-east of Greece. Our school is one of the oldest in the Municipality of Rodopi. The current building was constructed in 1992. Its a relatively new building with 16 classrooms, and laboratories for Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Music rooms, multiple-function rooms and a fully-equipped library. There are approximately 350 registered students (age 12-15), and 38 teachers of different fields in our school.

One of the main characteristics of our school is its multi-cultural character. 25% percent of our students come from repatriated Greek families who lived for about a century in countries of the Former Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, etc) and came back to Greece in 1990 after the collapse of the regime in the countries of Eastern Europe. These students speak both the Greek and the Russian language fluently. 16% percent of our students are Muslims. The existence of a Greek Muslim minority in Thrace has been recognized internationally since 1922. Among them, there is a significant number of Pomaks and Roma students.

There are integration classes for students with special educational needs and learning disabilities taught by teachers of Special Education.

Additionally, every year many national educational programmes, such as Environmental Education, Health Education, Consumer Education and many Cultural programmes (music, dance, theatre, art, radio, astronomy) are implemented. Our school also has a very active cycling club. Students go on various educational trips every year, visiting other parts of Greece and expanding their learning skills and abilities.

Students First Name, Age & Question:

Nikos (14): What is the most challenging problem of living in space?

Elena (14): Can you see the moon closer from Earth, is it different?

Kostantinos (15): How do you stabilize the food on the table?

Setsil (15): How often do you do extravehicular activity?

Georgia (15): Is it very difficult to become an astronaut?

Kiriaki (15): Do you have sufficient oxygen in ISS?

Magda (15): If you had just one wish to become true for your job what would it be?

John (15): If a member of the crew is injured can you give him first aid?

Gabriela (15): When you come back to earth, is it easy for you to walk?

Erifili (15): Which is the difference between day and night in Earth and in Moon?

Andreas (15): What is the main target of your expedition?

Fotis (15): Can you see meteor showers from space?

Chistina (14): Have you ever seen a comet from space?

Maria (15): How long did the preparation for this expedition last?

Alexandros (15): How many hours do you work, do you have shifts?

Paris (15): What is the most extreme procedure of your expedition?

Maria-Despoina (15): What is your favorite food in space?

Dimitris (14): How old were you when you decided to become an astronaut and what was the motive of your decision?

There are two schools participating in this event; South Street Elementary
School and Westside Middle School Academy (WMSA).

Westside Middle School Academy offers students a unique opportunity to
partake in rigorous hands-on activities. There are two academies at
Westside, STEM and Global Studies. In the STEM academy, students take part
in engineering projects such as building small paper boats, designing escape
pods and launching weather balloons. Students also participate in the
Connecticut Invention Convention and Connecticut State Science Fair.
Teamwork is essential at Westside. Our teachers encourage us to go beyond
our limits and to give our best effort. In addition, Westside has a culture
of safety, respect and responsibility (S R 2), which ensures that all
students are learning in a safe environment. Finally, the diversity of our
school community enhances the learning experience for all students.

South Street School is one of 13 elementary schools in the city of Danbury.
The staff of South Street prides themselves on the diversity of the school
as it compares to the rest of the district as well as the state. The state
average for Hispanic students making up the school population is 22.1%,
South Street boasts a solid 64.5% Hispanic population. The “Melting Pot”
community that is found at the school allows for an incredible mix of
background experiences, cultural traditions and a wealth of different styles
of learning. The majority of students gets to and from school by walking
with their families or friends and the sense of community and family is
strongly felt in the school and the surrounding areas. Students at South
Street thrive in an environment that emphasizes inquiry based learning and
hands on experiences to fully immerse themselves in the complex curriculum
of today’s schools.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

From South Street

1. Joycelyn (4th grade): What is the most difficult part of your job?
2. Bryan (5th grade): What type of microorganisms are dangerous in space? What micro-organisms are important and needed in space?
3: Zahara (5th grade): What type of medical testing does and astronaut have to go through to be physically and mentally fit for duty?
4. Juliet (4th grade): Did you always want to be an astronaut, or is it something you came to as part of a different career?
5. Shianne (5th grade): Does it bother you that you cannot see your family in space?
6. Madison (5th grade): What was it like to leave the Earth’s atmosphere, how did it feel?
7. Mia (5th grade): How long can a human stay in space?
8. Lindsey (5th grade): How are you able to get internet in space and send information back and forth to Earth?

From WSMA

9. Bethany (7th grade): How do you handle Major Medical emergencies such as a broken arm or a heart attack?
10.Paloma (7th grade): Do you have medical equipment besides a first aid kit ?
11. Oscar (7th grade): Can you alter the procedure of an experiment?
12. Alex (7th grade): Are you limited in the types of experiment? Such as doing an experiment with open fire?
13. Marianna (7th grade): Do astronauts work only on experiments that suit his/her specialty?
14. Stella (7th grade): Do all the astronauts sleep at the same time?
15. Kayla (7th grade): How do you overcome the language barrier aboard the ISS?
16. Vinny (7th grade): Do astronauts have specific chores aboard the ISS?
17. Shelbie (5th grade): Is there different types of weather in space? How does the temperature change during the time you are there?
18. Nicholas (5th grade): Is time different in space? How do you figure out what time it is on Earth?
19. Alexis (7th grade): What is the emergency procedure if debris were going to hit the space station?
20. Alexis (7th grade): What time zone is the ISS on?

Allassac is a French town in the Corrèze department, in the new Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes area.
There are 3.869 inhabitants. It is 20 kilometers north of Brive-la-Gaillarde and 200 km north of Toulouse.
The Mathilde Marthe FAUCHER public middle school currently hosts 400 students in 16 classes.
The students of 6th grade participate to the ARISS project.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows:

The MARISTES TOULOUSE: Collegians living the dream with Thomas PESQUET.

Toulouse is a city which is situated in the south of France right at the heart of the department of Haute Garonne in the Occitania region. Built around the Garonne River which flows through the heart of the city, Toulouse was the theatre for many notable historical events such as the crusades led by the French Kings against the heretic Cathares during the middle ages. The county of Toulouse was annexed to the French realm at the end of the 13th century.

Today this metropolis and French capital of Aeronautics and Aerospace is home to such prestigious establishments as the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) but also such industrial giants as TAS (Thales Alenia Space) and ADS (Airbus Defence and Space). The famous City de l’Espace, a scientifically oriented theme park, specifically geared towards the discovery, exploration and the development of space travel is one of the many tourist attractions appreciated by visitors to the city.

The College-Lycée Les Maristes Toulouse has been situated in the Montaudran neighbourhood since 2012. The school was built just next to the site of the Montaudran runway. The self-same runway from which the planes of the Aerospatiale, flown by the pioneers of civil aviation such as Jean Mermoz, Henri Guillaumet, Paul Vachet ou Antoine de Saint Exupéry, took off at the beginning of the 20th century.

Over the past three years, the college has been working in partnership with the CNES on the project « Mission eXplore : Je m’entraîne comme un astronaute » involving both the Physical Education and Biology programs. The goal of this project, created by the NASA in 2011, is to give youngsters an insight into life in outer space. The Maristes’ objective with this project, via the bias of the scientific and sporting challenges as well as the project “Liaison ARISS” with Thomas Pesquet, is to promote:the sciences and the professions linked to space studies the necessity of associating regular sports activities with a healthy and balanced diet.

Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: